


Coming Out

by whatsyeroffer



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, dramatic miscommunication, the beginning and the end are fluffy lol, the delicate talk of coming out, trans!Astra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 21:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12117150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatsyeroffer/pseuds/whatsyeroffer
Summary: Astra had hoped they would be taking their relationship to the next level, so she arrived prepared to tell Alex about her past. It was when Alex’s leg oh so casually brushed against hers that Astra cleared her throat. “Alexandra, there is… something I want to discuss with you.”





	Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was a warm-up fic that took on a life of it's own. I feel bad for everyone involved lol... 
> 
> All the drama started because what if Krypton's government not approving of trans individuals? Socially, it's acceptable. But to go against the Codex? Big no-no. Then it just all escalated. 
> 
> beta'd by mzhlf~ thanks sugar!

Astra could smell the garlic wafting out into the hallway from Alex’s apartment. The woman adjusted her tux before knocking on the door and entering. Soft music played in the background and candles were lit at the dining room table.

“What did you prepare, Brave One? It smells heavenly.”

Alex opened the oven as she answered, “Eggplant lasagna.” She sounded rather proud and considering it was the first time she had cooked something and _not_ burnt anything- well, she was entitled to feeling accomplished. “It’s almost done and then the garlic bread only has a couple more minutes.”

Astra leaned against the kitchen bar, eyeing Alex’s black dress. Alex turned around and gasped when she took in how _handsome_ Astra was in her tailored suit. “Oh wow…” _How had she lucked out?_ She felt a warmth in her chest as she admired her girlfriend.

Alex walked around the bar and placed the oven mitts on the countertop. She took Astra into her arms and bombarded her with kisses. On her cheek, on her chin, down her jaw, and finally kissing her heatedly on her lips. Alex squeezed her hip and Astra moaned lightly into her mouth. Alex pulled back, eyes dancing.

“You’re so breathtakingly beautiful,” Alex muttered. She pressed her lips to Astra’s forehead to keep from admitting how much she loved her. They were still in a relatively new relationship, but damn… She was head-over-heels. She knew that at some point tonight, she’d be telling Astra how she felt, but she wanted to wait for the right time (not two seconds after Astra walked in the door). So she pulled back with an easy smile on her face.

Astra tucked short, curled hair behind her ear and whispered, “As are you.”

Alex took her hand and lead her to the table, pulling out her chair for her. Carrots and green beans were already set out. Alex pressed another kiss to Astra’s cheek, “Let me go get the rest of the food.”

She placed the hot pan of lasagna on the table and then prepared a dish for the garlic bread. Half the table was covered in food and Alex laughed, “I hope I made enough…”

Astra prepared a plate for herself and then one for Alex, but suddenly Alex shot up, “Oh, I forgot the wine.” She poured a glass for herself and for Astra, who enjoyed the taste even though she couldn’t enjoy the intoxication.

When they were both seated, Alex placed a hand over hers and teased, “Maybe you can be my dessert?” She squeezed her hand before retreating to begin eating.

Astra smiled at her, the prospect was _very_ alright with her. She had hoped they would be taking their relationship to the next level, so she arrived prepared to tell Alex about her past.  The Kryptonian chewed slowly, building up the nerve to reach into her blazer pocket. It was when Alex’s leg _oh so casually_ brushed against hers that Astra cleared her throat. “Alexandra, there is… something I want to discuss with you.”

Alex took a sip of her wine and then said, “Okay.” She grinned, thinking about how _cute_ Astra was when she was nervous. “What is it?”

“We have dated for several weeks now,” Astra began, one hand fidgeted with her wine glass absentmindedly. “I have enjoyed our time together immensely and I never imagined I could be this content in a relationship.”

Alex listened, nodding along. She was _just_ as happy as Astra, but she couldn’t figure out why the other woman was nervously rambling. _Unless-_

“And I feel it is an appropriate time to confess this…”

She couldn’t even hold back her grin. Astra was going to say those three words that Alex had been feeling for a while now. She was honestly thankful Astra was going to be the first to admit it, she felt the giddiness well up in her stomach.

The last thing she expected was for Astra to reach into her suit pocket and retrieve a worn photograph. She studied it for a moment and then offered it to Alex.

“That was when I was a young girl on Krypton before I transitioned.”

And Alex couldn’t help the slight disappointment when Astra didn’t take the conversation in the direction she had been hoping, but then she then forced a neutral expression as she observed the photograph distractedly. Two smiling twins, a boy and a girl, were holding hands and looking up at the camera with mischief in their eyes. She kicked herself for being such a _sap_. It was way too soon to be hoping Astra felt _that way_ about her. She pushed those feelings away and had to remember what Astra had said.

But Astra noticed the momentary crestfallen expression and it cut deep. Deeper than how the Kryptonian officials judged her… Deeper than she expected it to. She had foolishly thought humans would be more accepting… She had foolishly expected _Alex_ to accept her. She put on a mask of indifference as she watched Alex.

“Wait,” Alex looked up from the red filtered photograph. “Transitioned?” At her terse nod, Alex went back to looking at the picture. This was pretty big news! And she was glad Astra trusted her enough to share it. Young Astra was adorable with short cropped hair standing next to her identical twin sister, who’s hair was long and curly much like Astra’s today.

Besides the haircut, there was only a slight difference in their jawline. “So the Codex is able to transition someone too?” She tilted her head to the side and her eyes lit up as her mind raced. She handed the photo back and began throwing out her many questions. “Is it instantaneous hormone replacement therapy? Or how long was the process? Wow, the bio-medical equipment necessary for that must’ve been-“

And maybe at another time, Astra would have enjoyed Alex _‘nerding out’_ as Kara called it, but after her confession…  Focusing on the science of it seemed too much like a diversion. Still, Astra answered all of her questions.

“That’s incredible.” Alex said, she reached over to squeeze Astra’s hand once again.

Astra waited for the woman to say more, but she hid a pout as Alex dug into her meal after a beat. Astra removed her hand from under Alex’s, disguising the move as drinking the red wine poured for her. Alex didn’t seem to mind, she kept shoveling lasagna into her mouth.

Alex wouldn’t even meet her eyes… It felt like she was being dismissed. Like Alex was pretending she didn’t just profess a huge secret.

It stung like a slap across the face.

“Yes,” She commented as she took a sip of the wine. “Your primitive health care could not compare with Krypton’s advancements.” Alex raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn’t heard that _snotty_ tone in Astra’s voice in a while. “Ah, and I see you have confused the placement of our eating utensils.” A purposeful dig.

She laughed good-naturedly, “It just makes more sense to have the forks on the right.”

“I’m sure you dread the thought of conforming to any traditional manners.” Astra said, flashing a fake smile.

“Don’t act so superior,” Alex rolled her eyes. “You’ve got half as much cultural understanding as I do.”

“Yet I know which side of the plate my fork should be placed.”

Alex huffed. She looked over at Astra, confused as to why the woman was trying to pick a fight. Astra just calmly sampled her food, a bored expression on her face. Despite being somewhat annoyed, Alex couldn’t help but smile when Astra had to dab a napkin to her mouth to clean off the pasta sauce.

Her smile fell at Astra’s next thinly veiled attack. “Human cuisine is unnecessarily messy.”

“Not all of it.” Alex shot back, biting into a piece of garlic bread. Crumbs rained down onto the table and her lap as though to prove Astra’s point.

Astra hummed in disbelief. “Maybe it is just how you prepared it. I know your cooking efforts rarely exceed mediocre.”

 _That_ was Alex’s breaking point. She had worked hard to make this date special and Astra was choosing _tonight_ to be like this? She threw down her fork, “Don’t eat it if you think it’s shit!”

Alex glared at her for a minute and Astra met her with a cold stare. _What the fuck was Astra’s problem?_ Alex stood from the table, grabbing her mostly empty plate. She practically fumed as she cleaned up the kitchen, accidently letting scalding hot water burn her hand but she didn’t even notice. The pots and pans clanked together loudly as she angrily placed them in the dishwasher. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Astra had abandoned her plate ( _half uneaten! What the hell!)_ to sit stiffly on the couch.

They both stayed silent for a few minutes. When the dishes were all put away and the leftovers cleaned up, Alex leaned against the kitchen’s counter and sighed heavily. She shook her head in Astra’s direction; the other woman still had her back to Alex.

It surprised her when Astra finally broke their stubborn game. “I should probably leave.” She glanced over her shoulder at Alex, all nonchalant.

Alex frowned. She was irritated at Astra but she didn’t want her to just _leave_ , so she crossed the room and went to sit at the other end of the couch. She put her head in her hands tiredly, wondering how the night had gone so off course. She was frustrated with Astra’s completely bizarre change in mood, and when she felt the couch shift- she broke.

“What did I do?” She mumbled out. It felt like everything was crashing down. She must’ve done something to piss Astra off… “I thought tonight was gonna be special, y’know? I thought maybe…”

It definitely wasn’t just about the sex- thought Alex would’ve been over the moon to share a night with Astra _like that_. Just the slight taste of a tender moment earlier in the evening, of wanting Astra to confess her feelings… That had felt great. But she, of course, appreciated Astra’s honesty as far as coming out. Alex waited, stressed out over how horribly this night had gone.

Astra crossed one leg over the other as she leaned back into the couch. It was hard to see Alex so upset, but Astra’s feelings were raw too. Being dismissed? Fundamentally rejected by her girlfriend, whom she thought the world of. _That_ was too painful to even think about allowing any pity for Alex.

So the Kryptonian flippantly asked, “What did you think would happen, Alexandra?” Did Alex really think she could brush that off so easily?

Alex blew out a frustrated breath. Astra’s trivializing attitude grated her and she lashed out. “Here I thought that this could actually work. Stupid, right? Just like the rest of my species.” When Astra didn’t answer, she scoffed. She couldn’t take any more of this tonight. “Yeah, I thought so. Ya know, maybe you _should_ just go.”

Astra felt guilt bubble up and that set her off. “You’re not entitled to play the victim when you’d think ill of me for a mere accident of birth!”

“Think ill?” Alex lifted her head and looked at her, confused beyond belief. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw your disappointment, Alexandra. The fact that my transitioning would alter your perception of me is exactly why your race is inferior.”

“That’s not true!” But Astra refused to meet her eyes and Alex felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest. The whole night made sense now… She had accidently made Astra feel _unaccepted_. While she didn’t appreciate her hurtful words and her manipulative tactic that dug into her self-esteem… Alex wanted to fix this _so bad._

She got up and moved to sit beside Astra. “Hey? Please look at me.” Alex reached over and placed a hand on Astra’s cheek. Steely grey eyes met hers and her heart _ached_ at the hurt laced in the malice. “Astra, I love you, okay?”

Astra’s breath hitched slightly, her gaze softening. “Earlier though-“

“I wasn’t reacting to your transitioning, I’m not a bigot. I just,” Alex smiled ruefully, “Well I thought you were going to tell me you loved me. The conversation just went in a different direction than I was expecting. But I am totally cool with you being _you_ , Astra.” Her thumb stroked over her girlfriend’s sharp cheekbone.

“I am terribly sorry for the way I acted, Alexandra.” Astra reached up to hold her hand, leaning into the touch “I was fearful your opinion of me would change once I told you and I let that-“

“I’m not going to judge you…”

Astra felt relief flood her. She pulled Alex’s hand into her lap and shifted forward to kiss her lightly. “You are exceptional.” Her lip quirked up in a smile, “And I have loved you since we met.”

Alex about exploded with happiness at her confession. “So… This night wasn’t completely ruined,”

“I believe I know a way we can make it even better,” Astra gave her a look filled with promises and she stood from the couch and pulled Alex up and led her to the bedroom.


End file.
